In a series of profiles of female college Nordic coaches for FasterSkier, former Olympian Nancy Ingersoll Fiddler ’78 checks in with Becky Flynn Woods ’89.

Woods tells Fiddler that a big part of her job is to help her Nordic skiers meet the rigorous dual challenge of Bates-caliber academics and Division I-caliber skiing competition.

Becky Flynn Woods ’89 and her father Bob Flynn (second from right) accept the Chummy Broomhall Cup as the top Maine college ski team from then-Maine Gov. John Baldacci in 2007. The award’s namesake, Chummy Broomhall, is at left. Photo courtesy of Kris Dobie.

“Balancing their workloads is a challenge,” she says. “Academic schedules combined with daily, consistent training and racing is a tough combination but something that is so worth it.”

Among her former skiiers are four All-Americans – Sylvan Ellefson ’09, Justin Easter ’03, David Chamberlain ’98, and Justin Freeman ’98. Freeman is a former Olympian, and Ellefson ’09 has his sights set on Sochi, Russia, for 2014. “When skiers from Bates are skiing on the World Cup and at the Olympics, it certainly feels like we are having an influence at a level larger than just collegiate skiing,” Woods says.

Still, most Bates skiers will not continue racing after Bates, so Woods’ overall goal as a coach is to prepare all her athletes for “what is to come” in life, she says, “physically, mentally and emotionally.”